Joel Mayo’s practice encompasses a wide array of real estate transactions and “dirt law.” For more than 30 years, he has provided practical, responsive counsel to developers, investors, public and private entities, and individuals through every stage of real estate acquisition, entitlement, land use, development, financing, construction, and ultimate disposition. His experience includes negotiating, drafting, and facilitating development agreements, construction contracts, architectural and professional design agreements, and property management agreements.
Drawing on his extensive real estate experience and passion for open spaces, Joel has developed a substantial practice representing clients in the acquisition, sale and leasing of ranch and agricultural properties. He has negotiated and facilitated transactions involving more than 100,000 acres of residential, recreational, and working ranch land. In collaboration with other Davis Graham attorneys, he advises clients on issues unique to these specialized sectors, including the evaluation and transfer of water rights, the acquisition and transfer of state and federal grazing leases, the purchase and sale of ranch and farm assets (including cattle), and the establishment and amendment of conservation easements.
Joel has been recognized in Best Lawyers in the area of Real Estate since 2015 and is a member of the Colorado Bar Association, where he served a three-year term on the Association’s Real Estate Section Council. Chambers USA recognized him as a “Leader in Their Field” for Real Estate in Colorado in 2025 and 2026. In 2026, he was named a Top Lawyer by 5280 Magazine and was recognized in the Legal 500 US Elite Denver Guide for Real Estate. Joel also recently completed a twelve-year term on the Board of Directors of Rocky Mountain Conservancy, a nonprofit corporation that partners with and supports Rocky Mountain National Park through philanthropic and educational initiatives focused on stewardship, preservation, and restoration of the park and other public lands.
Practices & Industries
Admitted In
Colorado
North Dakota
Education
University of Denver Sturm College of Law, J.D., 1995
Texas Tech University, B.B.A., 1988